In this ambitious show from an ensemble of prolific and visionary artists, all of whom live and work in Oakland, the world is imagined as a space between locations, a line between two points, a journey and not a destination. These seven artists have set out to tackle disparate, even transient, notions of mystic identity through the use of their professional craft. It could be said that what holds this group of artists together, most obviously, is the use of the powerfully-graphic line in the employment of the human figure. Whether it is Lauren Napolitano’s lyrical use of patterns across gentle renderings of human hands, or Jake Watling’s whimsical sense of character balanced against subconscious, narrative stories, all of these artists understand the media-power of the beautifully-made image and its ability to convey underlying meaning. This show represents a huge swath of the recent work from all the included artists, and all of it will be for sale directly from the artist.

It feels like a family: the assembly, this crew, this quilt of brilliant local art. We been doing this for years – different venues, different faces, sure, but many of these artists I’ve been representing for years, and know better than I know certain legs of my own family. The result? a warm vibe, an accepting space, an invented family, a buzz that belies the alcohol stupor we all stumble around in looking for our pens and paper. We used to do it every week. Perhaps you remember – now, we will do it once a season. The above represents some snapshots I took with last night, at our Springtime event. Special thanks to Mua for housing this event. If you are an artist, living and working in Oakland and want to be part of this, all you need to do is be in my face and (of course) be serious about your art. email me at, coyoteandthunder@gmail.com.

Reception: First Friday, August 3rd (08.03.12), in conjunction with Oakland Art Murmur

The Hive Gallery, curator Obi Kaufmann, and designer Jason Kulp are pleased to present The World Saving Device – Oakland Art, 250 Years from Now. Ten Oakland painters and illustrators come together in this wildly imaginative show to explore the metaphor of a world that needs saving. The gallery will be transformed to resemble a cave, a proto-cathedral, or some sort of intergalactic womb.

By positing some kind of deep future, what happens – especially here on the island that is California – is a reaching into our distant past. The device that ultimately saves the world becomes the ritual of the art-making process and its ability to convey compassion and a sense of some new, universal ecology.